Tomatoes rank high among the favorites for home gardeners, cherished for their versatility and flavor. Whether planted in traditional garden beds, confined to containers, nurtured in hydroponic setups, or suspended in hanging baskets, tomatoes thrive in the Florida Panhandle given the right care and understanding of essential growing principles. With a bit of advice and a dash of perseverance, achieving a beautiful harvest of delicious tomatoes is not only fun but also fulfilling. Check out these tips for successfully growing tomatoes in your home garden.
A bin of cherry tomatoes UF/IFAS Photo by Amy Stuart
PERFECT TIMING In the Panhandle, we’re fortunate because we can start planting tomatoes earlier than many other places. But because tomatoes thrive in warm weather, it’s important to wait until the risk of frost is gone before putting them outside. If you’re eager to begin, you can start growing tomato seedlings indoors. Once the weather warms up, you can move these seedlings outside. Another option is to plant tomatoes in lightweight containers. This makes it easy to protect them if there’s a late frost or freeze by moving them to a safer spot. However, don’t delay planting your tomatoes for too long! They need time to grow and produce fruit before the summer heat sets in. Once nighttime temperatures stay above about 80 degrees consistently, larger tomatoes might stop growing fruit. But smaller types like cherry and grape tomatoes usually do just fine.
DETERMINATE OR INDETERMINATE Some tomatoes, called determinate or “bush” types, grow to a specific size and don’t need pruning. Their fruits all ripen together within 1-3 weeks, which is great for container gardening and canning. Then there are indeterminate or “vine” tomatoes, which keep growing and producing fruit all season long. These kinds need support like stakes and some pruning to keep them neat and tidy in the garden.
RIGHT PLANT, RIGHT PLACE Tomatoes are sun-lovers, needing about four to six hours of sunlight every day. So, when planting them, choose a sunny spot in your yard. Before planting, consider getting your soil tested by your local Extension office. You’re aiming for a soil pH between 6.2 to 6.5, which is ideal for tomatoes. Also, enrich your soil with organic materials like composted manure. When planting your tomatoes, it’s helpful to bury them slightly deeper than they were in their original pots. This encourages better root growth.
TOP TOMATO VARIETIES FOR THRIVING IN NORTH FLORIDA’S CLIMATE Florida’s warm and sometimes damp weather can cause problems with insects and diseases that harm tomatoes. To avoid these issues, it’s smart to pick tomato types that can resist common diseases such as verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt, as well as pests like nematodes. Check the seed package for information about resistance. For this region, some good choices are the ‘Better Boy’ and ‘Celebrity’ varieties. If you prefer heirloom tomatoes, think about trying ‘Cherokee Purple’ and ‘Green Zebra’.
Tomatoes are better able to resist disease and dry off quickly after rain showers when they are trellised. Photo credit Anh Ngo Hoang (Pixabay)
PROVIDE SUPPORT For tomatoes that keep growing, like indeterminate ones, people often use wire cages, stakes, or trellis systems to support them. It’s a good idea to put these supports in place either right before planting or shortly after, so you don’t mess up the plant’s roots. As the tomato plants get bigger, you can use clips or ties to attach them to the support. Another way is to put stakes between each plant in a row and weave string through them to help support the plants as they grow taller.
FEEDING THE PLANT & TAILORING FERTILIZATION Just like people need food to grow, tomatoes also need specific nutrients to thrive. Using a fertilizer with a ratio like 6-8-8 or something similar will provide these essential nutrients for your plants. You can choose between a liquid fertilizer mix or granular fertilizer. It’s important to fertilize when you plant your tomatoes and continue to do so regularly during the growing season to keep them healthy and strong.
DROPLETS OF SUCCESS Pick a location for your garden that’s near a water source, like a hose or watering can. Drip irrigation is a good choice because it gives the right amount of water and helps keep leaves dry to prevent diseases. Make sure watering your plants is convenient for you. Aim to water your garden with about 1-2 inches of water each week to keep your tomatoes healthy.
Tomatoes growing on a vine. Photo taken 05-20-21
Successfully growing tomatoes requires attention to detail and consistent care. Ultimately, providing your tomatoes with the proper care such as adequate water, sunlight, and nutrients, is essential for their health and productivity. With these practices in mind, you can look forward to a harvest of delicious tomatoes from your Panhandle garden. For more information about growing tomatoes in the Florida Panhandle, contact your local County Extension Office.
Looking for a mid-season vegetable to plant in your garden? Look no further, Chinese cabbage is a great option. This cabbage matures quickly and is ideal for growing in winter’s shorter days and cooler temperatures.
Figure: Bok Choy Harvested & Prepared in a dish. Credit: Jieli Qiao, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
Growing Asian vegetable crops in Florida has become an increasing trend over the last decade, mostly due to health benefits and profitability by producers. However, the crop is new to many, who are interested in growing and consuming these vegetables. There are two sub-species of Chinese cabbage. The Pe-Tsai group are the broad leaved, compact heading varieties. The head may be six inches across and either round or cylindrical, in shape. The second group is known as Bok Choy (figure). These are non-heading Chinese cabbage varieties that have several thick, white leaf stalks, and smooth glossy, dark green leaf blades clustered together, similar to the way celery grows.
Again, cooler temperatures are key. Warm temps cause the plant to uptake more calcium, making the heads soft and bitter and may contribute to early seed development through bolting. Chinese cabbage matures in around forty to seventy-five days from planting, depending on variety. There’s no specific requirements to growing this cabbage in Florida, just follow the same soil preparation, liming, fertilization, and cultivation practices that you would use for other leafy vegetable garden crops. The main pests and diseases that occur are leaf blight, downy mildew, aphids, and cabbage caterpillars. Leaf blight and downy mildew usually occur in warmer times of the year, with higher temperatures and rain.
Chinese cabbage is very versatile. It’s great in salads, stir fry, pickled and even as a replacement for lettuce on your favorite sandwich. Enjoy!
Information for this article can be found at the UF/IFAS EDIS Publication, “Bok Choy, an Asian Leafy Green Vegetable Emerging in Florida”: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1337 & “Cabbage, Chinese – Brassica Campestris L. (Pekinensis Group)”: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mv036.
UF/IFAS Extension is an Equal Opportunity Institution.
For me, tomatoes are the most difficult (and expensive) vegetable to grow. I even try to discourage people from growing tomatoes in Florida. Tomatoes are susceptible to damage from a plethora of diseases and insect pests AND they require a lot of maintenance and fertilizer. However, I now have a tomato variety I can recommend – The Everglades Tomato.
The Everglades tomato (Solanum pimpinellifolium) is a different species than the traditional tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Other names for this tomato are the wild tomato or currant tomato. The plant produces an abundance of small tomatoes (about 1/2 inch diameter) with thin skin. Unlike most tomatoes, Everglades tomatoes keep producing throughout the heat of summer. They are even tolerant of brackish water and salt winds.
Everglades tomatoes should be cared for like any other indeterminate (vining type) tomato. Like most gardeners, I like to plant tomatoes a little deeper (two inches or so) than they were planted in the tray/pot. This allows for more adventitious roots to develop from the buried portions of the stems. I also like to trellis these plants with tall stakes and twine or some other support to improve air circulation. However, I have read that Everglades tomatoes grow just fine rambling on the ground. Make sure to give them a little more space than other tomatoes regardless if you stake them or not. Fertilize and irrigate just the same as you would for other tomatoes.
A bountiful harvest of Everglades tomatoes. Photo Credit: Connie Gladding, Master Gardener Volunteer, University of Florida/IFAS Extension – Clay County
Of course, just like any plant, Everglades tomatoes aren’t perfect. Their small size makes harvesting a little more labor intensive and their thin skin is easily torn. But I’m able to look past these faults because of their excellent flavor. I’ve also noticed Everglades tomatoes are not immune to caterpillar/moth pests. Fortunately the caterpillars only seem to feed on the leaves, because the tomatoes are so small.
Whether you’re a chef or just want a sweet snack, you should give Everglades tomatoes a try. Just search the internet for seed sources or ask a friend for a cutting.
A mixed vegetable garden. Photo Credit: eXtension.org.
It doesn’t get much better than eating fresh vegetables out of your own garden. I guess you could add a beverage to the mix to improve the experience. A dry chenin blanc would probably go well. Unfortunately, this month’s Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE steered clear of wine as a topic, but the featured agents did focus on vegetables.
Container Gardening
Size does matter when it comes to container gardening. Think about the full grown size of the plants you plan to grow when selecting a container size. For most vegetables, 10 inches wide by 10 inches deep is sufficient, but you can grow in much larger containers. The larger the container, the more room the roots will have. For more information on gardening in containers, check out the articles “Don’t Think You Have a Green Thumb? Try Container Gardening!” and “Container Gardens for Outdoor Spaces”.
If you have a really deep container and don’t want to spend the money on potting soil to fill it up, then you’re kind of out of luck. Rocks or other materials placed in the bottom of containers will create a perched water table. So basically, you’re creating a shallower container by putting materials other than potting mix in the bottom. The physics on this topic is better explained in “Rocks in Pots: Drainage or Perched Water Table Problems?”.
It’s best to start with new potting soil each year. Especially if you plan to grow the same plant species/families in the same containers. However, if you do plan to reuse potting soil, make sure to mix it up a bit with a trowel or dump it out and put it back in the container or another container. Also, choose a different crop than what you grew in the soil the previous year. Here’s an interesting publication on growing squash in recycled potting soil.
Raised Beds
Raised beds are a great option if you live in an area with poorly drained soil or with a soil that doesn’t hold nutrients. They also can be built on legs like a table to save your back some stress. More information on build a raised bed can be found in the article “Building Raised Beds”.
Vegetables need space to grow whether they’re planted in the ground, in a small container, or in a raised bed. Recommended varieties for container gardening and spacing recommendations can be found in this container gardening fact sheet from UF/IFAS Extension in Leon County.
Who says you can’t landscape with vegetable plants and fruit trees? Vegetables such as cabbage and kale can add a depth of color and texture to your annual flower beds. And blueberry bushes and citrus trees have beautiful blooms that bees love.
Trellises can be easily built and attached to raised bed gardens. Pole beans and Malabar spinach are just a couple examples of vegetables that need something to climb on. Lettuce and other small vegetables can be grown vertically in different hydroponic systems.
Plant Selection
Some seeds can be sown directly into the garden while others should be started in trays and transplanted. More information on sowing seeds and timing can be found in the Vegetable Gardening Guide. Just make sure to check out the tables at the end of the guide.
Some plants are more tolerant of salt air and salt water. This doesn’t mean you can water these plants with the Gulf of Mexico, but they will tolerate a little bit of salt. A list of salt tolerant vegetables can be found in “Salt Tolerant Vegetable Gardening”.
A number of cherry tomato varieties produce a big crop fast and over a long period of time. A list of recommended cherry tomato varieties can be found in this article on cherry tomatoes.
There aren’t a lot of options for perennial vegetables in North Florida. A perennial vegetable that can be grown here, taro, can be invasive. If you plan to grow this vegetable, please consider growing it in a container. Fortunately, we have a lot of options for perennial fruiting crops. More information on growing fruit trees can be found in the publication Dooryard Fruit Varieties.
Blackberries grow well in North Florida. You may want to try the thornless varieties ‘Freedom’, ‘Traveler’, ‘Osage’, and ‘Ouachita’. More information on growing blackberries can be found in the publication “The Blackberry”.
Some vegetables grow well in the shade. The “Veggies and Herbs Made in the Shade” publication includes a list of shade loving vegetables and herbs along with growing tips.
Community gardens provide a place to garden for people that may not have space at home. Gardening in these plots also gives people a place to meet their neighbors. Information on starting a community garden can found in the publication “Starting a Community Garden”.
Homegrown beets don’t taste anything like the ones your grandmother gave you out of a can. More information on growing beets and other root crops can be found in the Root Crop Chapter of the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida.
Vine borers and leaf footed bugs are some of the most damaging pests to a vegetable garden. Planting early in the season can help avoid these pests, but if you’re too late on planting then you might want to give some natural products a try. The publication “Natural Products for Managing Landscape and Garden Pests in Florida” provides some good pointers on controlling these and other insect pests.
Squirrels and other wildlife can also be pests in the garden. Deterrents can help keep these pests out of the garden.
Ants don’t usually mess with your vegetables, but they can be a nuisance when working in the garden. Fire ant management information can be found in the publication “Managing Imported Fire Ants in Urban Areas”.
Squash and other cucurbits don’t last long in wet areas. They don’t last long on the vine in the first place. Growing on plastic mulch, or even pine straw, can help these vegetables stay dry. You may also want to consider building a trellis for vining cucurbits. Also, make sure to harvest in a timely manner. Squash that overripen on the vine attract insect and disease pests and just don’t taste very good.
Weeds can compete for nutrients with your crops and don’t look very attractive in the garden (or anywhere). If you’re tired of hand weeding, the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida lists herbicide options by crop.
Past episodes of Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE can be found on our YouTube playlist.
People love eating potatoes, and farmers love planting them. Traditionally, Valentine’s Day is a known date for planting potatoes. This tradition goes back generations. Potato planting time in North Florida is during the coldest months of January to February, although February 14th is a popular planting day. The taste and texture of homegrown potatoes are far superior to those of store-bought spuds! Garden potatoes also provide a bounty of nutrients. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a member of the nightshade family. This cool-weather vegetable typically yields bigger crops in the northern portion of the U.S., however potatoes can be grown as a winter crop in warmer climates.
Potato Varieties
The most popular and successful varieties grown in Florida are based on yield, disease resistance, quality, and adaptability to warm climates. These varieties are white-skinned potatoes ‘Yukon Gold,’ ‘Gold Rush,’ ‘LaChipper,’ and ‘Sebago’, and red-skinned varieties ‘Red Pontiac’, ‘Red LaSoda’, and ‘LaRouge.’ For russet varieties, home gardeners can select varieties that mature relatively early (100-115 days), such as ‘Russet Norkotah.’ Exotic potato varieties are fun and interesting to try since these varieties are hard to find in supermarkets. They are often smaller, taking less time to cook, but are also very colorful, which can increase the nutritional content. Potatoes with bright orange flesh have more carotenoids, and those with red pigments have more anthocyanins, both having health benefits. Other fun varieties include fingerling types and varieties with blue/purple flesh. The ‘All Blue’ potato has deep blue skin and flesh and produces blue flowers. Certified seed potatoes are ideal and can be found at your local feed store or garden center.
Credit: C. Christensen
Planting Prep: Before Planting
The seed potato needs to be cut into the size of an egg, with at least one eye per section. They must be dried in a cool, dark place for a few days. Plant the sections in a 4-6 inch deep trench that receives full sun, with the cut side down and sprouts facing up. Potato plants are heavy feeders and need nutrition through the growing season. To determine what kind and quantity of nutrients to apply to the soil, get the soil tested by a qualified laboratory. Contact your local Extension office for local fertilization recommendations. Apply a 10-0-10 fertilizer at 7.5 pounds per 100-foot row, both at planting and again 3-4 weeks later, by side-dressing fertilizer about 4-6 inches to either side of the plant.
Growing, Harvesting, Storage
Potatoes are ready to dig in about three months. Since potato tubers push up above the soil surface, the soil needs to be mounded around the stems as the plant grows. Tubers exposed to the sun turn green, making them inedible. Remove the tops 2-3 weeks before digging to “toughen the skin.” After harvesting, potatoes need to be kept in a cool (60-65 degrees F) dark place for 10-14 days to allow any damages to heal. Move them to a final storage location with high relative humidity, good aeration, and cool temperatures (38-40 degrees F). Washed tubers should be allowed to dry thoroughly before storing. Under proper conditions, potatoes can be stored for 3– 6 months or more.
